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Wednesday, January 30, 2013

She Made~She Made...aka: the Brightness in my Dreary January

This month's edition of She Made ~ She Made seemed almost impossible to work with. I was the one who picked for this month so I only have myself to blame. Here is the selection I made:

I adore those vintage brown beads so much and I thought the red blister pearls were perfect for this time of year. But I struggled. And then I made this:

And put it down for a day or two and I pondered my next step with it. In the down time, Therese called me and told me she was beading around the vintage beads and I squealed, "Me Too!" so we promptly exchanged photos of our unfinished work. It was funny how we both went in the direction of beading around these babies. It wound up being the only one I beaded around. Here is the end result (I deeply apologize for all my photos. Sunshine is a big ol' ZERO in these parts of the woods. So I had to do it in the dreary weather with a flash. The first two necklaces I made photographed relatively ok, but the last one...YIKES!):

I used lava beads for the chain and a drilled bone piece for the center. I had other intentions for those lava beads but I will be back at the bead show in March and will pick up some more then.

The red blister pearls seemed like they would be fairly easy to work with when I selected them. Hahahahahahaha!!!! I cannot tell you how many way I strung them. I lost count. I should have photographed all my pitiful attempts so we all could have a good laugh. But it all worked out in the end. Whew!

I used tila beads and seed beads and the pearls for the front of the necklace and this gorgeous antique button for a side clasp.

For the back of it, I made this chain out of twin holes and seed beads. I know that this chain is going to become a regular in my repertoire. I really love how it looks and feels and how sturdy it is.

My final piece has the same button clasp as the one above. I added freshwater pearls and seed beads and twisted two-cuts and this grey jasper to go with the red blister pearls. Here she is:

( Please excuse the dog hair)

I am really happy with the results of all three necklaces and cannot wait to see what Therese made!

23 comments:

So different from Therese's, but beautiful as well! You have found a nice way to tame those "naughty" red pearls with a net from tilas and seed beads, I like it very much. Can't wait to see more of your work :-)

Hi Christine,First just let me say you blow me away you are just Damn Awesome Woman! I am so glad that we do this together every month I can not wait to see what you create. This month your pieces are fantastic I love the vintage bead necklace it has a Native American feel to it. The red pearls were not a friendly lot, but you seemed to make them behave beautifully in both of your gorgeous pieces I love them both, but my favorite is the one with the Tila tiles! I can not wait to see what we will work with in February. Is it my pick or yours or should we pick a number between 1-10? Therese

Wow, lady! Therese said your first piece had a Native American feel to it and my intial thought was TRIBAL! Awesoome tribal to boot! While I adore your beading around the focal, it's those dangles you created with the beads hanging from the focal that really catches my eye! And then...the tila tiles....OMG - I absolutly love this design - I can see how well it lays at the neck and the color combination is spot on! You two ladies are so freakin talented! :)

Girl! What a pile of creativity! I so love what you did with the first one, and I wish I could get over my fetish about using bone, cause that is so very pretty. I'm with you, the twins and seeds pattern is lovely. Tute??I am so surprised at myself, but I think my fave is the last one! It just has a classic feel to it. Have I told you how much I love this challenge? You two rock!

All 3 are gorgeous! I really love, love, love the first one ... dare I say it is very 'dream catcher' like! And the second one with those tila beads is genius to keep those pearls in place and lying flat! well done!! (loving that color of tilas btw :) and I love the unique-ness of the drop design on the last one - stunning!!

It's such fun to see how you and Therese tackle the same materials and come up with such different results! The first necklace is a cool solution to the challenges you were having, AND it gives you an excuse to go bead shopping next month. The two pieces with the pearls are great, too -- I really love what you're doing with tilas and twins these days, girl!

Lovely pieces, Christine. There must be something with the big vintage beads - you both went kind of the same route, while keeping very different designs. I love both your designs with the red pearls - and I can imagine why they were a challenge :) A challenge well done on both sides!

I love all three pieces you made Christine, but there's something about that first one with those vintage beads that just speaks to me! I love the design of that piece! I am so enjoying your monthly challenges with Therese!

Hi Christine,Everything is gorgeous! I love the little lava stone beads. Both pieces with the blister pearls are amazing. The last necklace is so cool how you dangled the focal point from a long strand.

It is not easy being upbeat in the dreary weather. I had to sleep with earplugs last night. We experienced ridiculous wind with rain banging on the house. I guess I should be thankful it was not a blizzard!~Val

Oh my goodness I love what you did! I love the beadwork around the bone focal and antique feel that the lava beads add. The pearl with tila beads are such a perfect match! On the last one, the button closure and chain work just did it for me. The focal is a beauty too. You are an amazing artist!

Cracked me up that you almost sabotaged yourself! You proved yourself worthy though. : ) I really love that new chain you came up with - I need to play more. That first necklace looks tribal to me - or certainly ethnic of some kind. Really cool beans!

Very creative. I love the designs especially considering that they were made by hand. It is not easy to think of a design and pattern it according to one's imagination. You really haev talent. Keep up the excellent work. - SWCreations.net

About Me

I bead, listen to music, drink coffee, bead, listen to music, eat, bead, listen to music, drink Manhattans, bead, listen to music, walk, bead, listen to music, read, bead, listen to music, and collect rocks. I lead a simple life and am just happy to be (ad) :-D